FSU opened fall camp on Wednesday and there are multiple storylines on defense. One, what will Tony White’s multiple-front defense, which is based out of 3-3-5 personnel, look like when the Seminoles open the season against Alabama on Aug. 30? And two, what position battles still need to be settled before the team’s first game against the Crimson Tide?
Defensive Line
There are two questions here: Will we see more odd-man fronts (three-man and five-man) or even fronts (four-man)? It is likely that FSU fans will see both utilized depending on how White feels about his defensive personnel and how they match up against the personnel of opposing offenses and down-and-distance tendencies.
Where are the battles for the starting positions when FSU is in a three-man front? It is important to note that on the defensive line the battles are probably more about who is in the two-deep more so than who starts. FSU would like to roll six to eight defensive lineman in and out of each game.
One thing is for sure: Darrell Jackson will be the starter at the NT position when FSU lines up in a three-man front. So the question here is who will be his backup? The battle for a spot in the two-deep at NT are Daniel Lyons, KJ Sampson and Kevin Wynn. FSU coaches could use three players at the NT position if they feel good about a combination of the three but they are not likely to use four on a regular basis.
The more interesting battles for a starting spot in FSU’s three-man front are at the two defensive end spots. We project this to be a battle between transfers Deante McCray, Jayson Jenkins and possibly Daniel Lyons at the strongside defensive end spot. McCray is the most experienced of those three players and would seem to have the inside track at the start of camp.
At the weakside defensive end position it is shaping up to be a battle between transfers James Williams and Deamonte Diggs for the starting spot with Amaree Williams competing for reps here as well as at the Jack position. Williams was mostly used in pass rush situations last year at Nebraska. Is he ready to be an every down player? If not, that gives Diggs the edge, and by all accounts he was very impressive in the spring.
In a four-man front, I think you will see Jackson and Lyons be the top two guys at the three-technique spot. That begs the question of who would start at the NT spot. You could play Jackson and Lyons opposite each other, and we are likely to see some of that. The battle here then is between Sampson, Wynn, transfer Tye Coleman and Jamorie Flagg.
The Jack position, which is used on passing downs, will likely be manned by both James and Amaree Williams. You could also see Jaden Jones compete for reps here.
Linebacker
The key in the linebacking corps this fall is identifying your best three players. We have seen a number of projected depth charts featuring players at different spots. We project the starting three at linebacker to be Omar Graham, Elijah Herring and Blake Nichelson. The question here is where they line up.
Graham filled more of an inside linebacker role in previous seasons, while Herring played the SAM position last year at Memphis. Nichelson could play either the SAM or WILL position. With this position group, the question is more about where they line up, not who lines up.
Transfer Caleb LaValle looks to be the backup at WILL entering camp but he could be pushed by AJ Cottrill, who had a solid spring. Justin Cryer and Stefon Thompson could both play either MIKE or SAM and look to be the next man up at those spots.
Defensive Back
There will be some interesting battles in the defensive backfield, where there is a ton of potential but not a lot of proven production. Houston transfer Jeremiah Wilson will man one of the corner spots. But who will start on the opposite of the field? Will it be Ja'Bril Rawls, Quindarrius Jones, Cai Bates or Charles Lester? If Jones isn’t one of the two starters at outside corner, could he move to the boundary safety position to compete with Shyheim Brown and KJ Kirkland?
There are a lot of questions heading into camp about FSU’s defense but we will start getting some answers with the season opener quickly approaching.
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